A Balanced Approach to Wellness!

Posts tagged ‘eating’

The year 2020 begins with Food 20/20

Food 20-20

The Food 20/20 Plan

Now is the time to focus on eating properly to stay healthy, disease free, and youthful. Here is the way to eat to keep yourself balanced and full of vitality!

Eating well includes the foods we eat and the atmosphere we create when eating. Each of these aspects is important for our bodies’ well-being.

Let’s look at the Food 20/20 plan to understand it.

Moderation. Moderation comes above all parts of Food 20/20, because moderation is needed in consumption and in intention. Foods eaten in moderate amounts nourish properly.

Appreciation (violet). Appreciation, without excessive fixation on being appreciative, helps food be spiritually nourishing.

Uplifting eating environment (indigo). The atmosphere in which food is eaten influences physical, emotional, and spiritual growth. When food is consumed in the company of others, at a relaxed pace, and without stress, the food is received by the body optimally.

The Blue group: Water and liquids. Water is the basic external requirement that we need in order to live. It is the food group that cannot be skipped. Nourishing liquids, besides water, that provide vitality are good. Liquids that contain substances such as caffeine, sweeteners (natural or synthetic), and colorings, are wizening.

The Green group: Vegetables-Whole grains-Nuts and seeds-Legumes. These foods form the basis of substances that are satisfying and balancing.

The Yellow group: Eggs-Meat-Dairy-Seafood. These foods require additional appreciation towards the lives that produce them. When eaten, they supply nourishment and satisfaction; however, they are less balancing than the Green group. The Yellow group appears with a dashed, gray line, because of ethical and sustainability concerns.

The Orange group: Fruit. Sweetness is best eaten slowly and savoringly. Fruit contains nutritious elements and unbalancing aspects. The sweetness can be unbalancing and requires balance from the Green group.

The Red group: Herbs-Flavors-Oils-Spices. These foods are best eaten in small amounts. They add tastiness and tweaked accessibility to the main groups of foods. Flavors include sweeteners such as date syrup, maple syrup, stevia, and honey. This group is meant to enhance food and not detract from food’s nutritious role. This group does not include eye-catching additives that harm health.

Food 20/20 presents the importance of non-food aspects of eating. These aspects are enclosed by dotted lines to indicate their intangibility. Appreciation is emphasized with a double oval, because of its effects on health.

The food groups decrease in size to indicate the amounts to be eaten. The foods in the Green group: Vegetables-Whole grains-Nuts and seeds-Legumes are meant to be eaten as the main elements of a healthful diet. The other groups are meant to be eaten in smaller and smaller amounts.

Following the Food 20/20 plan opens our bodies to elevated health and fulfilling dining experiences!

Note: Food 20/20 was given to me by Spirit!

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Eating at its best—Food 20/20

Food 20-20

The existing graphic presentations of balanced eating—the food pyramid, the healthy eating plate, MyPlate, Canada’s food guide, the Eatwell guide—are helpful, but they focus only on the foods.

Balanced eating requires more than consuming foods in nutritious percentages.

Food 20/20 is eating that is elevated and satisfying. Nourishment is more than consuming foods that supply nutrients to the body. Nourishment includes intention and atmosphere. Nourishment of the body nourishes the soul when the intention is appreciative of the food and the atmosphere is uplifting.

Let’s look closely at Food 20/20 to understand it.

Moderation. Moderation comes above all parts of Food 20/20, because moderation is needed in consumption and in intention. Foods eaten in moderate amounts nourish properly.

Appreciation (violet). Appreciation, without excessive fixation on being appreciative, helps food be spiritually nourishing.

Uplifting eating environment (indigo). The atmosphere in which food is eaten influences physical, emotional, and spiritual growth. When food is consumed in the company of others, in a relaxed pace, and without stress, the food is received by the body optimally.

The Blue group: Water and liquids. Water is the basic external requirement that we need in order to live. It is the food group that cannot be skipped. Nourishing liquids, besides water, that provide vitality are good. Liquids that contain substances such as caffeine, sweeteners (natural or synthetic), and colorings, are wizening.

The Green group: Vegetables-Whole grains-Nuts and seeds-Legumes. These foods form the basis of substances that are satisfying and balancing.

The Yellow group: Eggs-Meat-Dairy-Seafood. These foods require additional appreciation towards the lives that produce them. When eaten, they supply nourishment and satisfaction; however, they are less balancing than the Green group. The Yellow group appears with a dashed, gray line, because of ethical and sustainability concerns.

The Orange group: Fruit. Sweetness is best eaten slowly and savoringly. Fruit contains nutritious elements and unbalancing aspects. The sweetness can be unbalancing and requires balance from the Green group.

The Red group: Herbs-Flavors-Oils-Spices. These foods are best eaten in small amounts. They add tastiness and tweaked accessibility to the main groups of foods. Flavors include sweeteners such as date syrup, maple syrup, stevia, and honey. This group is meant to enhance food and not detract from food’s nutritious role. This group does not include eye-catching additives that harm health.

Food 20/20 presents the importance of non-food aspects of eating. These aspects are enclosed by dotted lines to indicate their intangibility. Appreciation is emphasized with a double oval, because of its effects on health.

The food groups decrease in size to indicate the amounts to be eaten. The foods in the Green group: Vegetables-Whole grains-Nuts and seeds-Legumes are meant to be eaten as the main elements of a healthful diet. The other groups are meant to be eaten in smaller and smaller amounts.

Following Food 20/20 opens the body to elevated health, relaxed malady responses, and fulfilling dining experiences!

Note: Food 20/20 was given to me by Spirit!

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The harm we bring when Fresh finishes last

Fruit and veggies

  • A dinner at Restaurant A delivers a cooked meat portion, rice, and a fried vegetable portion. The parsley sprig is decorative.
  • A dinner at Restaurant B delivers a pizza with meat and canned mushrooms.
  • A breakfast at Restaurant C offers eggs with potatoes or eggs with meat. Bread on the side.
  • An on-the-run food chain provides the meat in a bun with a piece of tomato and lettuce. The tomato and lettuce were cut much earlier.
  • A bakery that serves meals creates dishes that tantalize the eyes and nose, but challenge the small intestine. Only the decorative fresh peach slice lessens the challenge.

Today’s dining specializes in challenges to the small intestine, pancreas, and brain (and other organs and systems in the body). The missing fresh fruits and vegetables harm the body’s ability to heal. Healing requires the qualities that fresh fruits and vegetables possess.

A vitamin and mineral tablet can’t replace the capabilities of the fresh fruit and vegetables. A meal-in-a-bar can’t replicate fruit and vegetable power. Fruit drink isn’t related to fruit in its peel. Ketchup is not tomato at its best.

When fresh finishes last, health becomes compromised. When fresh finishes last, emotions erupt. When fresh finishes last, future health is less secure.

The food pyramids that show fruit and vegetables at the bottom are correct. Fruit and vegetables are the fuel providers that our bodies need to function effectively. A balanced diet provides vegetables in salads, main dishes, and soups and fruit as snacks, desserts, and appetizers.

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The way to diet

Diet books-tower of confusion

The world of dieting is fraught with quick-results claims and misinformation. Diets work for those who build an individualized plan, not through following the latest fad diet, but through understanding of food and its role in nourishing the body.

Moderation is the foundation of proper eating. Eating whole and nutritious foods builds on the foundation.

Here is a poem that will appear in the future book of poetry “Growth”:

Diet books-tower of confusion poem

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Food & drink, Poetry

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Eating Through Entitlement

Post 100-foods

Food is the substance that we all require to keep our bodies alive and functioning. Eating provides the way for food to enter our bodies. Eating is basic survival.

Eating through entitlement is eating that is beyond survival concerns. It is eating for fun or for reward or for companionship or for something to do. Entitlement eating concerns itself with taste, texture, and self-satisfaction. Entitlement eating relates not to hunger, but to the right to enjoy the food beyond its nutritional purpose.

Choosing a sweetened cereal for breakfast rather than oatmeal is an example of entitlement eating. Choosing salmon/veal for dinner rather than eggs/a bean dish is entitlement eating. Choosing a cappuccino frappe with extra whipped cream rather than black tea is entitlement eating. Eating three pieces of a delicious tasting pastry that lacks nutritional worth is entitlement eating. Eating a triple patty hamburger rather than a single patty hamburger is entitlement eating.

Creating tasty meals that are attractive and nutritious is not entitlement eating. Eating more of the tasty meals after hunger is sated is entitlement eating. Eating birthday cake is entitlement eating; however, eating it at a celebration with family and friends is positively received (unless too much is eaten).

Eating through entitlement.

Entitlement is part of our normal eating experience. Modern food production has enabled it to be so. Entitlement eating is very present, from the poor to the rich, in varying amounts of wastefulness.

There are ways to eat through the entitlement, that is, to eat without expecting the food to be more than the survival substance that it is. These changes in eating habits and in attitude can lead to better health and well-being.

  • Consider the healthful aspects of the foods you eat and change how you view the healthful foods.
  • Eat portions that fill but don’t stuff. (I use a salad-size plate at all meals to help me eat less.)
  • When you eat, look at your food and smile, and then think a thankful thought about it.
  • When you eat, notice the foods—their texture, their taste, their aromas, and their ability to satisfy your appetite. Even foods that have little nutritional value—notice them.
  • At events where food is served according to demand, like at buffets, fill your plate once and resist a second visit to the food.
  • Think of yourself as a person who eats to survive and then enjoy your food.

You can be a foodie and release the entitlement. By appreciating the foods you eat and by eating the amount that suits your age, sex, and activity level, you can enjoy the magic of food!

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The fascination with food fads

liquids

Food fads create interesting news stories and limitless conversations. “This food is a super food!” or “This food is the answer to your health problems!”.  “This diet will bring you your dream life!” or “This diet will help you feel younger!”. “This supplement will cure you of <fill in the blank>!” or “This supplement suppresses your appetite so you can lose weight easily!”.  “ By following this regimen you can live longer, lose weight faster, or eat all your favorite foods!”

So go the food-fad claims.

The true food rule is moderation. Eating in moderation is the key to healthful eating. Even if you eat a food that is un-nourishing, as long as you eat a small amount, it will not cause harm.

Moderation is discussed in Oneself—Living:

“Moderation is actually fascinating! No easy feat is moderation. It requires attention and control and vigilance. And sometimes, rethinking and reworking. Moderation is the pinnacle of conscientious living. Moderation contributes to self-control, which in turn brings balance. The more one lives in moderation, the more one can accomplish.

Regarding eating, moderate eating provides the appropriate amount of fuel to run the body. Not too much, not too little. Moderate eating leads to enjoyment of food and to better digestion. Food that is not ejected or is not over-consumed is food well used. Food that is eaten for sustenance is food well used. Food that is eaten, not only in the correct amounts, but also in nourishing environments, nourishes the body and the soul. Soulful eating. Soul-fulfilling nourishment. Nourishing the soul includes the body’s nourishment. Enjoying the food, appreciating the food, understanding that food is for energy, all connect to elevate the process of caring for the body.

Paying attention to the amounts of food eaten, to the atmosphere in which the food is eaten, and to the quality of the food lead to well-being and elevated living. Moderate eating and eating atmosphere are presented in the book of poetry, Unfolding:

Poem-eating

Food fads are simply fads. Moderate eating is for a lifetime!

To buy Oneself—Living: http://amzn.com/1495289451

To buy Unfolding: http://amzn.com/1508828229

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Devouring delicious meat

cooking meatThere is a way to eat meat and that is with appreciation. Appreciation for the ease at which the meat is obtained and appreciation for the ability to have meat when wanted.

The ease at which the meat is obtained: in restaurants, fast food chains, meat markets, supermarkets, convenience shops, and through the internet. Meat is easy to come by. The fuss of preparing the meat for consumption has also been made easy: ready-made meats of all kinds, whole roasted chickens, frozen meatballs and link sausages, refrigerated sliced meats and meat salads, hot and cold meat entrees—and all of these are at the supermarket.

The ability to have meat when wanted. Because meat is so easy to obtain, it can be eaten as much as desired. There are even diets that tout meat as the main part of each meal. Bacon for breakfast, chicken cutlet for lunch, steak for dinner, beef jerky for a snack. Lox for breakfast, tuna for lunch, salmon for dinner, sushi for a snack.

With so much meat available, it is easy to forget the path the meat dish took to get to the table or into the take-away bag. The ease of the access lessens the appreciation of the meat, and so people who eat meat must make a special effort to add appreciation into each meal in which meat is eaten.

Becoming aware of the meat processing industries is a greater step towards meat appreciation. Buying meat from companies that support animal care can add to the appreciation and awareness of the animals that were raised and slaughtered on behalf of the human diner.

The most important appreciation is towards each cow, pig, chicken, turkey, or fish that gave its life for the meal sitting in front of you.

||Eating Living Dishes||

Animals
eat animals.

The eaten animals
are raw except
when they are cooked.

 Cooked animals are eaten
by people.

Even when
cooked, the eaten animals
have living aspects.

Life
can never be cooked away.

When eating living dishes,
eat with humility.

from the upcoming book of poetry titled Connection.

How much meat to eat? Spiritual Presence informs me that the right amount for each person is based on each person’s need for food that is filled with chewingness. Meat is a food to be chewed, and the chewing gives rumination satisfaction. Also, people who taste food through their sense of smell have a need for meat that is usually more than they need to eat.

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Farmers’ market balance

Post 104-veggies.jpg

Farmers markets are opportunities to buy freshest-­of­-fresh fruits and vegetables and items prepared by farmers and other stall owners. Farmers markets are opportunities to be close to the produce without having gone to the farm to pick them. Farmers markets are different from grocery stores in that opportunity is provided for connecting with people who are connected to the gifts that come from the earth.

The fruits and vegetables that are displayed at farmers markets are usually local produce. They contain remembrance of the land that is nearby. At a spiritual level, eating produce that came from nearby land is nourishing beyond spiritual sustenance that occurs from eating produce that came from afar. The body won’t feel the difference, but the spirit will. Eating produce from other countries or from great distances inside one country is less spiritually sustaining. The spiritual sustenance occurs through the intangible thread that ties the earth in which the produce grew to the person eating. The farther the distance, the less ability of the thread to connect. Local produce supply the connection.

Intangible connection to the foods that nourish our physical bodies is one more step towards balance. The more we eat the spiritually balancing gifts from the earth, the more easily we can connect to our soulful selves.

Note: Growing one’s own fruits and vegetables is even more spiritually balancing.

Note: In small countries where the produce does not travel far to reach the grocery stores, the produce in the grocery stores still has the intact intangible thread to the earth, but the handling of the produce affects access to the earth-giving spiritual connection.

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The health benefits of food from scratch

Green beans

This post is not about the vitamins and minerals in unprocessed foods. It is about the health benefits that occur when unprocessed foods are prepared. The more a person is involved in creating the meal he or she eats, the more uplifting and balancing the experience of eating.

We’ll use the snapping of green beans as our example. Green beans can be purchased in cans and in bags, ready for cooking, or even already cooked. The prepared green beans do provide nutritional value, but the benefits of preparing them from scratch are lost.

Here’s what happens when a person sorts and snaps fresh green beans:

  1. Muscles in the hands and arms are exercised.
  2. Muscles of the hands and eyes are coordinated (as in an exercise for fine motor skills).
  3. Muscles in the neck are lengthened.
  4. Muscles in the abdomen are tightened, especially if the work is performed while standing.
  5. Muscles supporting the spine are exercised.
  6. Muscles in the shoulder blade area and chest are coordinated.
  7. Muscles that are used during breathing are relaxed because the action of snapping beans causes a slowing of the breathing (if the person is not rushed).
  8. Muscles of the oblique groups of abdominal muscles and the reabsorption of water in the kidneys synchronize to optimize urine production.
  9. Muscles of the upper and lower torso move in syncopation, which strengthens and stretches them.
  10. Muscles in the face rejuvenate when movements are focused on the work. (Talking on a phone while preparing the food cancels this benefit. Singing while preparing the food does not cancel this benefit.).
  11. Many other muscles and body parts are strengthened and stretched as well.

The list above presents physical benefits from sorting and snapping fresh green beans. Here are benefits to the other components of health:

  1. Emotional balancing occurs when the work is done with a generous intention.
  2. Spiritual balancing occurs through connection with whole foods.
  3. If the work is done with family members, opportunities can arise for heartfelt conversations.
  4. The food is personalized; in other words, its role as nutrition provider is elevated.
  5. The color, texture, and shapes of the green beans at the various stages of preparation affect the senses in favorable ways.

The more a person is involved in creating the meal he or she eats, the more uplifting and balancing the experience of eating.

The benefits of preparing food from scratch cannot be overstated. Having a personal relationship with the food you eat is worth the time and effort.

(This post is dedicated to my friends and family who hadn’t realized the benefits that come from taking the time to prepare meals from scratch. ♥)

Note: This blog post has been spiritually received.

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Taste! Truly taste!

vegetable platter

The food arrives.

See it, truly see it!
See the colors and the shapes. See the savoring and the nourishment.

Smell it, truly smell it!
Notice the separateness and the combination.

Taste it, truly taste it!
Put a small amount on your tongue and then feel it in your mouth. Feel the texture and the flavor. Let the sensation of first bite awaken the appetite for more to come.

Eat with enjoyment. Savor the process. Chew and move the food in your mouth deliberately, tasting the mouthfuls, one after the other. Notice the swallowing. Swallow completely and then take another bite.

Notice fullness. Notice messages from the body about satiety, discomfort, and contentment. When satiety is reached, refrain from eating more. If discomfort is felt, examine the food choice and remember. When contentment happens during or after a meal, pause and breathe deeply, letting the positivity fill your body in an intangible way. The food is fuel for your physical body and inspiration for your beyond physicality body.

This way of eating is appropriate for all meals that are eaten while sitting at a table. (Eating in a car or other moving vehicle, while walking, or standing by the fridge will not provide the same nourishment—even if the food is nutritious.)

“Moving beyond survival, the eating experience can be sad and disappointing or can be full of joy and laughter. Much depends on our attitude and on our desire to be well.” … from “Vitality! How to Create a Life That Is Healthy”

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Binging on sweets—effects and repercussions

Since accepting the guidance of food intake through Energy Guidance Complete, I have maintained a healthful diet that has enabled me to lose weight healthfully, achieve stable energy throughout the day, and strengthen my body.

Today, for the first time in over two years, I binged on sweets. Not like I would have in the past—my body simply couldn’t handle that—but a binge nonetheless. Before my change in diet, I binged on sweets off and on. My body has always been kind, and I rarely suffered stomachaches or other noticeable pains.

After today’s binge, I feel fine, even though my body no longer is regularly pounded with sweets. I was curious about the effects on my body, and so I’m asking Spiritual Presence what the effects and repercussions are from eating so many sweets. Here is the information I have received about binging on sweets:

  • Each person suffers.
  • The effects vary depending on age, sleep deprivation, and hydration.
  • The repercussions vary depending on physical and emotional states at the time of the binge.
  • The gall bladder works harder.
  • The sense of smell weakens.
  • The muscles tighten.
  • The small intestine functions more sluggishly.
  • The outlook of the emotions is shifted negatively.
  • The kidneys work overtime.
  • The head intangibly shrinks.
  • The sense of touch is affected (differently depending on amount eaten and current health status).
  • The digestive tract functions differently than when non-sweet foods are eaten.
  • There are other effects as well, but they are dependent upon each person’s health.

sweet too much

Less is better when eating sweet foods. In general, natural sweeteners are better than processed sweeteners. Chemical sweeteners—NO!!! No one should eat them! Fruit sweetness is nourishing in moderation. Moderation is best for all foods, but especially with sweet ones. The body is sweetened best with love and kindness to oneself and others!

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Fullness

Fullness

What is fullness? I thought I feel it almost every time I eat, but Spiritual Presence informs me that I don’t feel it enough.

What fullness am I learning about?

The fullness one feels when seeing a dear, loved one. The fullness one feels when looking back upon one’s actions and being satisfied. The fullness one feels when letting the awesomeness of nature completely overwhelm. The fullness one feels when working with others to improve everyone’s surroundings. The fullness one feels when the amazingness of weather is experienced. The fullness one feels when welcoming a new life into one’s home or community.

Fullness is a sense of comfort, of appreciation, and of understanding. Fullness is satisfaction. Opening to self-contentedness is fullness.

The fullness we feel when we eat a sustaining, nutritious meal is this type of fullness.

Connection!

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The basic tests for maintaining health, Test #6

treble_staff

The post “Monitoring Health” (https://energy-guidance-complete.com/2014/08/24/monitoring-health/) brings awareness of the seven tests that should be performed in order to evaluate health.

Focusing on foods that are bereft of nutritional value or are lacking in the aspects that naturally gratify (for example, fat-free foods) undermine physical, emotional, and intellectual health. Choosing to eat based on criteria not related to sustenance of the body has evolved. As stated in Vitality!— How to Create a Life That Is Healthy:

“Eating for the sake of keeping the body alive is not a part of life for most people living in modern society. Eating for the sake of the enjoyment of the food is modern society’s take on food. The enjoyment, not the life-giving aspect, is the focus.”

Here is Test #6.

Test #6: Consumption of nutritious and satisfying foods

Here are questions for the basic test:

  1. Potato vs. french fries
    The potato, baked or mashed (not from instant mashed potatoes and not with an overabundance of butter and milk), is the healthier choice.
    Which one do you choose more often? Which one is better for your body?
    (This question does not apply to people who have a medical allergy to potatoes.)
  2. Seasonal fruit platter vs. fruit cocktail dessert
    Seasonal applies to fruits that are in season in your location. Fruit cocktail applies to fruit in a can. Seasonal also applies to fresh fruit, preferably not waxed.
    Which one do you choose more often? Which one is better for your body?
  3. Roasted chicken vs. chicken smothered in a creamy sauce
    The non-meat version: pasta with a vegetable-rich sauce vs. macaroni and cheese
    Which one do you choose more often? Which one is better for your body?
  4. Tilapia vs. salmon
    Tilapia is an abundant fish; salmon is over-eaten and is endangered in some areas. In general, seafood such as tilapia, catfish, herring, oysters, sole, shrimp, and trout can be eaten up to three times a week total. Seafood that should be eaten less are salmon, Chilean sea bass, clams, cod, crab, crayfish, flounder, haddock, halibut, lobster, mackerel, mullet, mussels, octopus, perch, prawns, sea urchin, skate, snapper, squid, and tuna. Sardines aren’t in either grouping and can be eaten up to twice a week (in place of another fish serving). These groupings are based on environmental issues. At this point in time, consumption of mahi-mahi and whale should be limited to almost none. The debate over farmed or wild salmon is discussed here: https://energy-guidance-complete.com/2014/03/06/to-eat-farmed-salmon-or-not/
    Which fish do you choose more often? Can you do with less? Can you consider the environment when making choices about nourishing your body?
  5. Carbonated beverages, decaffeinated beverages, beverages that are referred to as energy drinks
    These beverages have been presented to us as better than water for quenching our thirst and giving us energy and vitality. Do you believe that is true?
    Which would you rather have to drink—a drink that fits into one of these three categories or water? Which drink do you think your body would rather have?

    There are many more questions; however, these five are a good beginning. Consider your answers and then consider the significance of each question.

    Eating wisely is good for your health!

Post 100-foods

 

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The Eating Recommendation

Eating structure

The Eating Recommendation is a more accurate presentation than the food pyramid for how people should eat. The non-food requirement in the center was explained in the previous blog post.

Today, we’ll look at some of the food groups. In Vitality!  How to Create a Life That Is Healthy, food groups are subdivided depending on their nutritional value and on environmental issues. As an example, the section about meat and fish is divided into three subgroups. Notice that from these three subgroups, a person is nourishing the body properly when a total of six portions of meat and/or fish are eaten a week:

  • Sardines and lamb.
    These foods can be eaten twice a week.
  • Catfish, chicken, goat, goose, herring, oysters, pork, salmon (not more than once a week) sole, shrimp, tilapia, turkey, trout.
    These foods can be eaten three times a week.
  • Anchovies, beef, carp, Chilean sea bass, clams, cod, crab, crayfish, duck, eel, flounder, haddock, halibut, lobster, mackerel, mullet, mussels, octopus, perch, prawns, rabbit, sea urchin, skate, snapper, squid, tuna, venison.
    These foods can be eaten once a week.

A portion size depends on age, gender, health, activity level, and physical build. These recommendations apply to people who regularly eat meat and not to non-meat eaters whose needs are considered elsewhere in the chapter.

Notice that nuts & seeds appear twice. The reason for this double appearance is to emphasize the importance of eating nuts and seeds. As stated in the book,

 “The more active a person is, the more nuts can be eaten. The less meat, fish, and dairy eaten, the more nuts can be eaten. In general, nuts and seeds are very nutritious and people should alter their diets to accommodate more nuts and seeds.”

The recommendation for water and liquids is added to the Eating Recommendation to emphasize their importance. As stated in the book,

“Water is necessary to sustain life. That’s a fact that must be accepted. Coffee is not necessary to sustain life, nor are carbonated beverages. Water, unless it is tainted, maintains life; carbonated beverages make life sluggish. Water quenches thirst; coffee creates thirst. Water is the only drink that the body truly desires. A body that is confused desires other drinks. Water helps the body perform its wondrous functioning. The other drinks make the body work harder….”

Just like with food, the amount of water needed depends on age, gender, health, activity level, and physical build, plus climate and location. The various liquids are divided into six subgroups.

More to come…

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Rethink the food pyramid

Eating structure

The shape that appears here is not symmetrical like the food pyramid, but it is a more accurate presentation of how people should eat. This shape is useful for studied understanding of food consumption and connections.

In the center, a non-food requirement is presented. The ingestion of food is not the only requirement for nourishing the body; the eating environment and appreciation for the food contribute to optimal digestion and to nourishment of the body, emotions, and processing abilities (processing abilities refer to processing of thoughts, opinions, and creative reasoning).

When food is consumed on the go, in secret, or standing near the fridge, nourishment is lessened. When the food is appreciated and eaten with a sense of gratitude, nourishment is enhanced.

Not present in this structure is the requirement of choice. As stated in Vitality!  How to Create a Life That Is Healthy:

Eating for the sake of keeping the body alive is not a part of life for most people living in modern society. Eating for the sake of the enjoyment of the food is modern society’s take on food. The enjoyment, not the life-giving aspect, is the focus.

Choosing to eat foods that bring healthful existence, choosing to avoid foods that limit, and choosing to consider the needs of the Earth when making food choices are aspects of interactive and heightened living.

The categories in this interesting construction will be explored in the next blog post. They have subcategories according to nutritional impact and environmental impact. Detailed information is presented in Vitality! How to Create a Life That Is Healthy.

Notes: The picture is not beautifully drawn because I have not developed good drawing skills. I drew the shape and structure as I understand it to be from Spiritual Presence. The explanation for the repetition of nuts & seeds will appear in the next blog post.

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Book #4 is done! Vitality!

9_5_new

Six months ago, I was inspired to feel the vitality that exists in my body. This happened at my dance class (a women’s free movement dance class) and I have been dancing that way ever since. I was also inspired to explore vitality in words, which led to the blog post: “The grandest energy with ever-changing possibilities”  https://energy-guidance-complete.com/2013/12/31/the-grandest-energy-with-ever-changing-possibilities/

At the same time, I understood that I would be writing a how-to book about living vitally. This book, Vitality! How to Create a Life That Is Healthy, is out and can be purchased on amazon.com.

As it says in the introductory chapter:

“This book is titled Vitality! because vitality is necessary to live a fulfilling and meaningful life. By living energetically, we are living as designed. People are not meant to be sluggish-crawlers. We are meant to be vibrant creators and observers.

Living energetically does not mean living at a frenetic pace all the time. It means living fully and filling life with moments of full attention and engagement. Being ready to attempt and to strive, being ready to attempt again and strive more.”

Attempting and striving are necessary for normal living. No life is meant to be carefree and worriless. Learning to invest time and effort into every day leads to life lived fully. Invest time into one’s time? Yes, time that passes without being used purposefully is time that is mourned. Perhaps not at that moment, but later in life.

From the chapter “Vitality! The Foods We Eat”:

“…Unless you live in an isolated area where little processed food reaches you, you will probably have trouble removing processed foods from your diet. Also, people might confront you for changing your attachment to processed foods. When confronted, remember to breathe with your entire being and know that you are nourishing your body the way it was meant to be nourished….

… The information about the foods to eat might seem complicated, but it is not once you have examined it thoroughly. The following steps are one way of digesting the information and using it:

  1. Review the food categories and portion guidelines so that the divisions seem clear and the portions are understand-able.

  2. From each category, select the foods you eat. Notice categories where you consume many of the options and categories where you consume few of the options.

  3. In the categories where you consume few of the options, review all the options and think about ways of incorporating more of those items into your meals.

  4. Think about the categories from which you consume more than the suggested portion. Eating this amount does not bring balanced health. Consider how to alter the amounts you eat from those categories.

  5. …

  6. Besides planning your food, plan your eating experiences. Think about timing, location, table settings, variations according to mealtimes (breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snack), and company (people, music, non-person company such as an interesting book if you are alone, etc.)

 Food is meant to be a pleasure and not a battle. We are meant to eat so that we can live. We are meant to eat nutritious foods so that we can live healthily. We are meant to desire nourishing foods, and so we can, if we reject processed and non-nutritious foods that suppress the desire for proper foods….”

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EGC books and articles, Food & drink

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Aging is manageable when breathing is understood, post #2

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Breathing is key to longevity and quality of life. The rhythmic movements of the diaphragm and lungs determine vitality. Supplying oxygen, supplying force.

Many people attempt to lengthen their life by eating well or by seeking purpose. They misjudge sometimes.

Eating well?

Eating well is important; however, people who focus on the food they eat as if it is the answer to all their problems and they lose sight of proportion often breathe narrowly. They are too worried about each morsel that enters their mouth and they create an opposite effect–>the worry alters breathing negatively which then alters quality of life negatively.

People should eat wholesome and nourishing foods because the body requires them to function properly. The over-focus about nutrients and the under-focus about joyful eating create breathing that is stifled. Not good for aging wisely.

Looking for meaning?

Searching for meaning in life is uplifting, but can create havoc for the body when the focus on spirituality outweighs body care. Spirituality is just one aspect of living. Health of the body, emotions, and intellect are important as well. Deep breathing performed in meditative mindset is beneficial—yes, very beneficial.  But it is just one type of breathing that the body needs for creating good health.

Purposeful living brings many benefits, and one of those benefits can be longevity. Purposeful living combined with varied breathing (deep, neutral [neither deep nor quick], quick, intensified, and happy [when the emotions produce feeling of contentment]) lead to aging that is less troublesome.

An exercise to reach all four components of health

“When you breathe, you do so much more than fill the lungs with oxygen. You fill the body and soul with life-giving force.

Each day when you awaken, breathe deeply and remind yourself that your breathing adds oxygen to your lungs, adds hope to your emotional being, ignites your thinking abilities, and connects you to spiritual possibility.”

-from Vitality!—How to Create a Life That Is Healthy (to be published soon)

 

That’s it for now. We’ll explore breathing more in the next post.

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Aging, Breathing

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Vegetable support: the foods that sustain

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Many foods nourish us, but vegetables nourish, ground, and calm us. They provide the nutrients that enable us to move forward.

The importance of vegetables cannot be overstated. Our bodies need them and function less well without them. They are sources of happiness, creativity, expressiveness, achievement, satisfaction, and vitality. Eating vegetables doesn’t guarantee that a person will be satisfied with his or her life, but eating vegetables enables being capable of being satisfied. The more vegetables we eat, the more our bodies can handle.

Vegetables are usually viewed as members of one entire food group or are grouped by type of plant part eaten (leaves, roots, etc.) or by color. Actually, vegetables belong in three groups that are determined by the amounts that should be eaten. Here are the groups:

  1. Beets, broccoli, cabbage (all types), cauliflower, purple bell peppers, romaine lettuce and other leafy greens, spinach, zucchini.
  2. Butternut squash, carrots, pumpkin, watercress, yams, yellow summer squash.
  3. Asparagus, bell peppers, brussel sprouts, celery, corn, cucumbers, eggplant, fennel, green beans, kohlrabi, mushrooms, okra, onions, peas, potatoes, radishes, tomatoes, turnips, water chestnuts.

In this post, the amounts to be eaten are not being presented. Just know that the more, the merrier!

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Food & drink

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Inventive body stuffers—processed foods

Post 102 Processed foods

Processed foods challenge body processes (not all processed foods are challenging to the body, but the ones that are good for the body are in the minority). The foods being discussed here are the ones that contain the ingredients that are known to be harmful, but people eat them anyway.

These foods should be limited to never. Really!

Food is not the only damaging thing to people; emotional damage can be more harmful than eating toaster pastries. Nonetheless, the better the food we put into our bodies, the more chance of physical and emotional balance.

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Food & drink

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